From a London Banker to make-up artist in Bollywood & social entreprenuer – Delhi boy Rishab Khanna

The desire to ‘create’ has always been of great importance in 28 year old make up artist Rishab Khanna’s career. So when this Delhi lad decided to leave his lucrative full-time banking sector job in London to follow his calling as a make-up artist, the decision met with strong criticism from friends & family. But nothing could deter him from realising his dreams. Today, five years later, Rishab Khanna is a well known name in Bollywood and lends make-up services to India’s elite.

Says Rishab Khanna, “After moving to India, I joined MAC as a retail manager. I watched youtube videos on make-up tutorials. Since I am also a painter, the understanding of colours, how to use brushes and blending the colours, came in handy for this job.”

A self-taught makeup professional, he started applying makeup on clients during his stint with MAC as a manager. One thing led to another and Rishab started getting rcognition for his signature ‘corrective makeup’ – a minimalist make up technique which he developed. Soon, he started working independently.

Today, Rishab Khanna has carved a niche for himself in a short span of time with his style to be versatile, creative and polished. His outstanding attention to detail and friendly attitude gained him respect from peers and clients alike. Rishab is committed to reach the highest levels of perfection with his belief, “In this industry you have to always be inspired and must never stop learning as it’s the only way to become good at what you do.”

Apart from being a make-up artist, it wouldn’t be wrong to call Rishab a social entrepreneur. As his commitment to society, in 2012 Rishab started training underprivileged girls & housemaids in Delhi & Mumbai in learning make-up techniques, free of cost. Today, he has successfully trained 20 girls and given them vanity kits so that they can have a quality life and earn more. “I have provided training to these young girls who worked as maids for a mere salary of Rs 3, 000 to Rs 5,000 around my house in Delhi & Mumbai. Today, they are working and earning between Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000.”says Rishab Khanna

So what does he think about the industry? “In India, make-up artists are yet to get the recognition they deserve unlike west. The industry is still very nascent and it needs some reforms. I am optimistic about the future.”. added Rishab who is also working towards launching his chain of salons in New Delhi.